The surprisingly unpretentious school building based on the principle of distinctly horizontal pavilions designed by Brno architects stands out for its clear massing and rational mirror layout ensuring comfortable use for two school institutions. It brought the spirit of Brno functionalism to Přerov with its large strip windows, tile cladding, and overall clean architectural concept that was evocative of industrial buildings.
As the number of children undergoing compulsory schooling in Přerov continued to increase, the capacity was insufficient and the large-scale fragmentation into many buildings and makeshift ones was no longer sustainable, and so the town decided to build a new modern school building. A large site near the railway station, that of the former Kulka engineering factory, which disappeared after 1925, was chosen for the new building and a public architectural competition was announced in 1930. A total of 24 proposals were submitted; the first prize was not awarded, but two second prizes were chosen – for a project by Mojmír Kyselka from Brno and a second proposal by Josef Kittrich and Josef Hrubý from Prague. Both projects proposed a low pavilion system of an advanced functionalist character. The ensuing competition between the two second places, when Josef Polášek joined Kyselka, was decided in favour of this pair.
Josef Polášek, like Mojmír Kyselka, was one of the leading practitioners of Brno functionalism. He designed many school buildings, and in this he made use of the new knowledge about the construction of so-called open schools that he had gained during his trip to Holland. He used aeration and lighting for absolute efficiency in school buildings with a minimum of architectural means. The plans of the Přerov schools were changed several times on the basis of comments from the town council and the regional authority, but also because of a lack of funds, before the construction of the first reduced stage of the primary school for boys and girls was started in 1933. It should be noted that the next phase, when two pavilions were to be built for a girlsʼ junior secondary school and a school for womenʼs professions, did not happen in the end. On September 2, 1934, the building, with the left-hand part formed by the girlsʼ school and the right by the boysʼ school, was handed over to the public. The inscription Comenius School soon appeared on the façade of the new modern building as its new official name.
In the original design, the authors designed the campus in the form of three groups of interconnecting low pavilions that formed semi-open atria. The three-storey building, which was the only one to be realised, is a striking example of functionalist principles and efforts at rationalisation, with a clear and well-thought-out layout, clear articulation of the mass of blocks, and state-of-the-art facilities. The T-shaped school consists of a main part with two separate entrances and two staircases, flanked by two symmetrical side wings. On the frontage, there is a large communal terrace above the entrance, which is fitted with black tiled bands – the only decoration of the façade.
In the basement, space was built for a kindergarten, classrooms, and operational facilities. On the ground and first floors, twelve classrooms were mirrored together, facing east and connected by corridors that converged in the centre of the building. The architects incorporated a janitorʼs apartment on the ground floor and two offices for the principals and meeting rooms on the first floor of the main segment. A shared gymnasium with separate changing rooms and showers was placed in the rear wing. Each classroom was designed for 48 children. There was also a large school garden with an area of 458 m2.
In 1983 the façade was modified – in terms of its articulation and colour – and the windows were replaced, which considerably disturbed the functionalist character of the building. Nevertheless, in 2001 the building gained listed status. The school underwent a major reconstruction in 2018, when it was restored to its original zoning with blue strip windows, a white façade, and tile cladding under the supervision of representatives of the conservation authorities. At present, it is part of the building complex of the Jan Blahoslav ʻGymnáziumʼ (grammar school).
TH (translation by SG)
Selected literature
Jarmila Klímová, Obecná škola dívčí Komenského, in: idem (ed.), Dějiny přerovského školství, Přerov 2012, pp. 41–43.
Vladimír Šlapeta – Pavel Zatloukal, Moderní architektura v Přerově, Památky a příroda 3, 1981, pp. 129–140.
Pavel Zatloukal, K přerovské moderní architektuře, Kultura Přerova XXIII, 1980, č. 12, pp. 182–183.
Sources
základní škola - Památkový Katalog (pamatkovykatalog.cz)
Martina Horáčková, Architektura střední Moravy, 1918–1945: Přerov, Kroměříž, Bystřice pod Hostýnem, Holešov, Kojetín (diploma thesis), Katedra teorie a dějin výtvarných umění FFUP, Olomouc 2004, pp. 55–57.
